Hotels in Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian, Mississippi’s historic hotels tell the story of a city that grew fast with the arrival of the railroad. In the early 1900s, downtown Meridian buildings sprang up to lodge travelers, workers, and visitors who helped the city expand.
A number of early hotels paved the way for Meridian’s “Golden Age” from 1890 to 1930. The Phoenix Hotel dated to the 1870s but was destroyed by fire in 1876. The St. Charles and St. Bernard followed in 1881, and the International Hotel opened in 1884. Felix Weidmann, who later ran a famous Mississippi restaurant, owned the International. Other pre–Golden Age hotels included the Grand Avenue Hotel and the Great Southern Hotel, the latter a large, luxurious five-story building with 150 rooms. The Grand Avenue catered to families visiting the nearby Meridian Male College and survived a damaging tornado in 1906, though its block was rebuilt afterward.
Railroad development helped spur more hotels. The Elmira Hotel opened near Union Station in 1905, and the Terminal Hotel went up across the street in 1910 to serve travelers. A new wave of hotel building followed Union Station’s completion in 1906, and the city’s hotels became central to Meridian’s growth. The Hotel Meridian, built in 1907 near the station, drew railroad workers and passengers and later functioned as apartments after being sold and renamed.
Meridian’s skyline also featured the Lamar Hotel, built in 1927 by Sam and Joe Meyer. Eleven stories tall, it was meant to be the city’s premier hotel and attracted officials and the well-to-do, though the Great Depression limited its success. The Lamar Hotel later became a county facility and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, reflecting Meridian’s historic importance.
Another important chapter comes from the E. F. Young Hotel, opened by African-American entrepreneur E. F. Young, Jr. in the early 1930s. Young built a thriving business around a hotel, barber shops, and a line of hair care products that served Black travelers and customers across Mississippi and beyond. The Young Hotel remained a symbol of Black entrepreneurship in Meridian, and in 2007 it was recognized as part of the Meridian Downtown Historic District. The building was demolished in 2023 for safety concerns, but its legacy lives on in Meridian’s history of Black business leadership.
As Meridian grew, the city also invested in preserving its architectural heritage. A long-running effort led to historic district designations in the late 20th century, and Meridian Main Street was formed in 1985 to revitalize downtown with marketing, design guidance, and restoration projects. The Riley Center for Education and the Performing Arts (housed in the renovated Grand Opera House) became a centerpiece of downtown renewal, along with projects that revived the Rosenbaum Building, Weidmann’s Restaurant, and Union Station’s transformation into a modern multi-modal center.
The Threefoot Building, a former office tower, became a focal point for a potential downtown hotel. After years of plans and partnerships, the city sold the building to a hotel management company in 2015 with the goal of converting it into a Courtyard by Marriott hotel, hoping to align the project with the opening of the nearby Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center (MAEC). The project highlighted Meridian’s push for a convention-center hotel to boost the downtown scene.
Today, many contemporary Meridian hotels are located in suburban areas built after World War II, but the city continues to pursue a vibrant downtown hotel presence. Local leaders hope a successful downtown hotel will support the arts, theaters, and the broader revival of Meridian’s historic core.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:07 (CET).